


Big Brothers Need Help Too

by Marmarhargreeves



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Diego centric, Gen, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, Good Brother Luther Hargreeves, Good Brother Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Good Sister Allison Hargreeves, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, Sibling Bonding, Stuttering Diego Hargreeves, au where no apocalypse, bc fuk dat everyone lives and is happy, theyre all good ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18713335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marmarhargreeves/pseuds/Marmarhargreeves
Summary: Diego has been the biggest solid constant for his siblings the last six months. He's the strong, big brother. But that doesn't mean he needs help too. This newfound quietness went beyond his usual stoic silence. His siblings take notice, because of course they do.





	Big Brothers Need Help Too

**Author's Note:**

> a very sweet anon messaged me this perfect diego angst prompt and listen.....i will always Write Diego Centric Angst. so if anyone has any HC's or anything pls....tell me!! i've been in a bit of a writing rut but this def helped!!! i hope u enjoy :')))))

The Hargreeves siblings have been together post apocalypse for a few months now. And they’re mostly okay. They’re alive, and that’s all the matters right? Well, almost everyone is. Grace and Pogo are gone, but billions of lives are not. Hell, even Ben is as back as he can be. They’ve spent the last few months healing in their own ways. 

It’s been a tough six months for all of them. Vanya’s training has been long and intensive, but she’s gotten stronger. Her siblings have forgiven her for everything even if she hasn’t fully forgiven herself. She probably never will. Diego insists on giving her a ride to every rehearsal, making sure she gets to the auditorium and back safely. Allison and Klaus drag her out of her room and makes her join them on their nail party nights; even if she usually settles with a clear top coat or nude color she will happily paint Klaus’ nails nine different colors.

Luther, the most aloof and ignorant of them all, has finally started to accept that he is a victim of trauma: A victim of Sir Reginald Hargreeves, just like his siblings. He’s been ashamed of being seen for so long that he would purposely isolate himself from his brothers and sisters. He knows what he’s done to hurt them, what Reginald drilled into his brain was the correct thing to do. He’d flinch at any contact with his siblings, retracting so quickly as if their touch burned him. They all notice, because of course they do. He’s getting better about it though. With Klaus sprawling his legs over his knees on the couch and Diego’s shoulder massages after their sparring, how could he not. Their casual touches is slowly bringing the big man out of the shell that he’s never stepped foot out of before.

Allison’s life as America’s Sweetheart came to an end. The power that destroyed her life has been forcibly stripped away. This new loss, this disability, is something she’s had a hard time coming to terms with. Her brothers and sister help her in every way they can. Diego was the first to go to an ASL class with her, the rest of the siblings promptly went after. Vanya would always offer her voice to talk to her daughter, to be her interpreter. 

Five, the man who went through literal hell for the sake of his family, is now learning how to actually exist. Being a person is so much harder than he had ever imagined. He was focused for so long on one thing: surviving. Five never really thought about what to do after that. He doesn’t remember a life before ashes, fumes, and a sea of nothingness. He doesn’t remember a life before killing, before taking orders. Diego is the first person to notice when Five gets lost in his head at the dinner table, his fork shaking lightly in his hand and his eyes looking far off. He’s somewhere else. Diego would simply lay a gentle hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. It was grounding. Five doesn’t quite know who he is yet, but shopping trips to the mall with Allison and Klaus and movie nights with Ben and Vanya are certainly good places to start finding out. 

Ben, although he’s only able to be corporeal for 7 hours max a day, has had to do his own adjusting. Sometimes he forgets he can be seen, touched. The touches can be overwhelming, the locked eyes too intimate. Diego and Klaus are patient with him. They understand that sometimes he just wants to be corporeal and alone and they give him the agency he deserves to do so. But he’s grateful to be apart of his family again even for a little while at a time.

Klaus has been sober for six months, the longest he’s ever gone since he was 13. He has never been able to go longer than 30 days without relapsing so 188 days is a huge feat. His siblings have held him through the terrible dope sickness, the bone rattling shakes, the nausea. Allison would silently tuck herself in his bed in the middle of the night after hearing him scream in the middle of the night, muttering heart wrenching words about war and his lost love. He’d sob in her embrace as she’d run her hands thru his curls, whispering kind affirmations until her throat begged her to stop. Diego would and has dropped anything to take the man out on a late night drive. Klaus wouldn’t even have to say a word. All it took was one look at his brother for Diego to know he needed to get out. The house, the mausoleum, had so much history - there were just too many of them. It didn’t matter where they went, Diego would drive for hours until if it meant Klaus would fall asleep in silence and safe.

Then there’s Diego. The now ex-vigilante has been one of the most solid constants for his siblings over the last six months. He’s been there for them through each of their traumas, their coping, and their recovery. He’s been an anchor for each of them in his own way, never asking for a thank you or any recognition of the sort. Diego has always been the softest of them all, not that he would ever admit it. Before their rankings were enforced, before they were taught that emotions were a sign of weakness, Diego was the most empathetic of the bunch. He’d pick Vanya up when she fell and scraped her knee in the courtyard, helping her over to their mom for a band aid. He’d always play tag with Luther and would let him win when he could see he was getting frustrated at losing. Diego was always a good, kind brother in his own way. 

Which is why it shocked Klaus that no one noticed until now. Diego had never been much of a talker unless he was angry and felt the need to be defensive. His nonverbal communication was usually enough. And he’s been less angry, working on his impulse control and actually thinking through his feelings instead of immediately acting on them. A silent pat on the shoulder, a hug, a nod towards the door to signal a car ride was all it took for his siblings to know his intentions.

But this? This went beyond Diego’s usual causal stoic silence.

The siblings were sat around on one of their three living areas, the only one with a TV. Diego, Klaus, and Ben were on the three seater couch with Diego cushioned in the middle. Vanya and Allison curled up on the floral loveseat and Five and Luther sat on their own recliners. They were watching Disney movies, per Allison’s instance that Five be educated on some of the classics he had missed out on. They were on movie number two, Bambi. Vanya and Diego’s favorite. 

“Hey Di,” Klaus started, voice soft as looked up from his place on Diego’s chest to meet his deep brown eyes, “Why is Bambi your favorite Disney film? It makes sense for Van, but I wouldn’t expect something like Bambi to be your cup of tea.”

Klaus could feel Diego’s body tense at the question, pursing his mouth in thin line before he settled on a quick shrug of his shoulders. Klaus cocked his head, not finding that answer completely satisfactory. There was no witty comeback, no snide remark. No backlash. Why isn’t he saying anything? The more he started to think about it, the more he realized something.

Diego hasn’t said a word all day. Wait, scratch that. He actually can’t remember the last time he heard his brother say anything. Something that hasn’t happened since they came home from an interview where Diego stuttered through an answer and was forcibly shoved in the tank for 36 hours. 

“C’mon bro, this is a safe space and all.” Klaus shifted from his spot on Diego and straightened up, turning his body so he could look his brother straight in the eyes. “Tell me. Why is this your favorite movie?” He asked again, louder this time. Diego didn’t know how long ago the movie got paused but what he did know is that he wished he didn’t give Five the remote privileges for the night.

“Diego?” Vanya piped up, her voice small but full of concern. “What’s wrong...are you..?” She trailed off. This was so unlike her big brother. 

Diego opened his mouth, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. His tongue was jammed in his mouth and nothing but strangled grunts escaped his lips. He gave up after a few moments, closing his eyes tight and sighing softly. He started to shrink in on himself, his usual usual strong presence turning into anything but.

“Oh Di.” Ben wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” 

Diego gave another shrug, his body releasing some of the tension he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Diego, how long has this exactly been going on?” Five asked cautiously, his voice lacking it’s usual edge and snark.

The six siblings watched as their brother struggled to form words. They all saw the shame start to wash over his face. He was becoming more red as each second passed. Diego started to close in on himself, but Ben’s arm was keeping him from completely slipping away. They knew he was almost scared of their reactions of what would come out of his mouth.

“Please, Diego we just want to help. It’s...it’s okay. Like Klaus said, safe space.” Luther affirmed, leaning forward from his seat and placing a firm grip on his knee and giving it a light squeeze. Allison cleared her throat until Diego met her eyes and gave a gentle smile. 

“Please, we love you.” She signed and mouthed.

He took a deep breath, trying to remember what his mom told him all those years ago. Just picture the word in your mind, right? He knew his trigger letters, he knew to speak out the exhale of a breath if his stutter was particularly bad. 

“S-since M-mon-m-monday.” He managed to get the answer out, his hands curling in tight fists and leaving moon imprints on his palms. God, this was a lot harder without Grace here.

Vanya eyes immediately narrowed at her brothers frustration and in one swift motion she plopped herself criss cross applesauce right in front of the man before he could break skin. She gently ran her hand on his knuckles and started massaging his wrist until he slowly released the firm grip. 

“Monday?! Bro, that’s six freakin’ days!” Klaus exclaimed, his eyes widening. 

“Diego, why didn’t you tell us? It’s just - you’ve helped us all so much. Like, with everything. Let us help you this time, yeah? I know you like being the strong, big brother all the time but it’s okay. You don’t think any less of me when you help me, right? Or Five?” Klaus stressed. Diego shook his head.

“Right! So don’t wait so long to confide when stuff comes up. I’m sorry I didn’t even think to see how you’ve been coping? We’ve all been so caught up in our own lives that it just. It shouldn’t of slipped - it won’t happen again.”

Diego nodded again, letting out a soft scoff. 

“I-I-I th-thought I c-could g-get over it alone. But w-w-with-without m-mom…” 

“Without mom, it’s hard, right?” Vanya finished a few seconds after Diego stopped, making sure she wasn’t speaking over him. 

“It won’t be the same, and I can’t promise we’ll be as good as her. But we can try. All of us.” Five assured, the other five siblings agreeing and nodding their heads. 

“It’s n-not that I-I-I don’t trust y-you guys,” Diego paused, thinking carefully on how to word the next statement.  
“I-I just d-d-didn’t w-want to w-worry you. I’m s-sorry I didn’t s-say a-any-anything.” 

“Honestly? I’d be lying if I said I’m not worried, Di.” Klaus started softly, “But we don’t have to go through this shit alone anymore, remember? You of all people should know that. You’ve taken me on more drives the last few months than I’ve been on in like, my entire life. You take Van to every rehearsal, you’re the best at ASL so far. You’ve always had the biggest ‘protective big bro’ energy and I’m sure even Lu over here can admit that.” To which Luthe agreed with a “true, true” at the statement. 

“But that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to lean on us when you need to.” Klaus ruffled Diego’s hair, causing a quiet giggle to erupt from the man. 

“I think this calls for a Hargreeves group hug, no?” Allison whispered softly and signed. 

“GROUP HUG!” Ben exclaimed, wrapping his other arm around Diego. The rest of the siblings jumped up and squashed themselves around each other, not daring to move for another 30 seconds. 

“I-I know I c-c-can h-hold my b-breath, b-but I d-don’t think F-Five can.” Diego’s voice was barely audible, muffled from the center of the pile. 

“Oh Diego, always the observant one.” Five gasped as they disbanded, heaving dramatically. 

“I think Di deserves remote privileges for the rest of the night, no?” Vanya grinned, running her hand through her hair. 

“The honor is yours. But please, no more Fight Club.” Five pleaded. 

“Fine. K-k-karate k-kid.” Diego retorted, yanking the remote off the chair and collapsing back on the couch. Five rolled his eyes, but his tiny grin and prominent dimple always gave away his lack of annoyance. 

“Karate Kid it is then.” Luther agreed. 

Yeah, so maybe they weren’t perfect. But they were the only people who could even begin to understand what each other went through. They knew each other through and through. They knew each of their flaws, their insecurities, their defense mechanisms. That meant nothing goes unnoticed, but that always meant that nothing would go unsupported. The seven of them would be there for each other always - the spent entirely too long tearing one another apart. And they saw how that could’ve ended. They weren’t going to do that anymore, the Hargreeves made sure of that.


End file.
